A pawn shop at Kowloon City

Thanks Raymond.  It is an unusual sight in that it has only one column.  I believe there was at one time a column at the corner like other surviving shophouses including those on lane corners.  Behind it on the other street there is a building with two columns admittedly a wider building.  From Google street views, it is not possible to see if there is a cantilever beam extending to the back that serves as a support.  I wonder if  they strengthened the sidewall to act as cantilever.  Another possibility is that they enlarged and strengthened the lone column to support the load on the lane-side of the building.  Regards,  Peter  

Hi There,

Similar single colums could be seen in other areas.  Wanchai, Yaumatai, Yaumati .... etc.  The column probably was from a previous building where demolishing the column may endanger the wall it attached to thus it was kept as a support.

T

Thank you tngan for the fast feedback with examples.  These are taller than the pre-war 4-level shophouses so they are newer generation compared to my former home, and must have been designed to support the front without columns.  Regards,  Peter

These single columns are always eye-catching. I've added a tag, single column, to gather any similar photos together.